Hand transplanting machine



Feb.v16 1926.

t C( KENNEDY HAND TRANSPLANTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5.

l Frs 5 Suva/Hoz:

CHAR Las E EN N .F.JDY,

Patented eb. 16,1926.`

Yvivi-'litio Asu.'has

"CHARLES KENNEDY, 'or MAYs mex, xnN'ruexY. AssIGNoR or* oNE-THIRnTo H. c.

GALBREATH, F IBROOKSV1LLE, KENTUCKY.

. Y i H AND' 'rRANsPLAN'r'INGr MACHINE. y

vApplica/cien k:nea February 5, 1924. serial No. 590,818.

,To alli/whom t may 'Concern'. I i

I ENNEDY, a:

Be it knownvthatI, CHARn s citizen of the VUnited States, residing at Mays'LiclQ in the county o i Mason and State offKentucky, j have invented `certain new and nseful Improvements infHand Transplanting'Machines; and I dohereby l .j declare the followingto bea'full, clear., and

., exact description of the invention, such. as

will enable others skilled vin tlie'artto which it `appertains toniale and-use the same.f

. The present invention relates to transplanters, and 1s an miprmfementl over the `handtransplanting machine disclosed in my copending application Serial No 450,164, filed March 7,1921 V(now Patent No '1',496,

647 grantedJ une 3, 1924).

It isanob'ectjof he invention fto provide a device '.jfor setting tomato, cabbage,

tobacco or other plants in the'groun-din a siniple and convenient manner, and for supplying lmoisture to therootsgof the plants,

vsuch device being simple andsubstantial in construction and. comprisinga novel assemblage'of the. component elements to enhance the utility and eiciency of the device.'y

Another obj ectv is to 'construct thefdevice chiefly from sheetmetalfandVV to assemble the vpartsv in ay noveland substantial for auingin thehoie made'by .the shovels,

vso-as to surround the plantlwith dirtl aftery being depositedv in the hole.y f

with the iforegoin andv otherv Objects Vin View, which will be understood'asfthe"de# scription proceeds, the invention resides Vin the vconstructionand arrangement of parts,

as hereinafter described and claimed,fit bepanying drawing, wheieindeparting `from the spiritoi the invention( The invention is illustrated' in the accom- Figure 1 is aside elevation'of the im-v per end of thev chute,

proved transplanter.

Fig. 2 is a vertical median section of lthe device, portions being'shown in elevation'.

Figs. 3 and-4 are cross sections on the respective lines 3-3 and of Fig. 1." Y

AV further object is toprovidenovel meansf .shovel. v Y A" tubular chute -18 is disposed above'the Fi 5 is aback view of one shovel show#Y v `ing t e dirtpacker thereon.

having afiat innerv side wall-.8 which is extended at its upper end above the mouth of the'tank or'the attachment 'of the handles 9 and 10'disposedat oppositesides-o the 60 extension. The handle 9 is 'disposedabove the tank' and the handle 10 is located at the oppOsit'eside, and said handlesare mounted on a lbolt or rod 11 extending through them,l land through'the upward'extension lof the' wall 8.' lA brace V12 connects theoppositel wall of the tanl? and corresponding end offthe rod 11, for bracing the handles.

' A sheet metal plate 13 is soldered orl'otherwisesecured to the wall '8 vat the lower end' 70 "thereof and the v lower l'portion .thereof isj 'i :formedfintoa downwardly extending shovel o r shoe 1.4 depending below ythe bottom fof the tank `to-enter the ground. A companion shovel or'4 shoe 'l5 is pivoted,as at 16, to vthe 15 shovel 14 to swing open and closed-andthe shovel 14 is fixed with reference tothe device, while the shovel'l is hinged to swing away from and against'the'shOVel 14'; Said shovels yare of arcuate 'cross-section, and80 when?V closed present 'a sharp nose atv their"` lower ends toV enter the ground. VThe plate 13 ha`s yflanges 1 7 at opposite sides: Vextending.. away from the tank,^ and said flanges are i'I itV-egrzrill with 'or lI nerged intothe side por- S5 tions of thefshovel 14, whereby to brace said shovels, with the Alower end thereof between the upper portions of the shovels, and' said 90 chute is soldered or otherwise secured vto the` lflanges 17 betweensaid flanges, vthereby supporting the .c hutev rigidly. The chute is inl clined' away from the tank.7, f'o'n'theoOnvv'enient dropping of the plant into theup- 95 The chutevv also in` creasesfin diameter from its upper to its lowervend so that'thereis no possibility of the plant catching or clinging in the chute duringits descent kthrough the chute. V lThe chute being tapered upwardly will prevent the leaves of the plants from clinging to the sides of the chute during the descent of the plant to the ground. rlhis is especially advantageous when the plants have large flimsy leaves, such as tobacco plant-s, particularly if the leaves are slightly wet or damp, so as to have a tendency to cling to the sides of the chute, thereby preventing them from falling to the proper position in the soil. With the present formation ot the chute, the clinging of the plants to the sides of the chute is avoided, and the plants will drop down to the proper position in the soil.

rPhe actuating means for the shovel 15 includes a rod 19 pivot-ally connected at its lower end to the upper end of the shovel 15 and pivotally connected at its upper end with a lever 20 fulcrunied to the wall 8 ot the tank iminediately below the handle 10, whereby the lever 2O can be raised by the hand grasping the handle 10, for swinging the shovel 15 open away from the shovel 14. The rod 19 extends along one side ojr' the chute 1S, and is guided through a guide inember 21 secured to said chute, and a coiled spring 22 is disposed on the rod 19 and is confined between the guide member 21 and shovel 15 for normally swinging the shovel 15 to closed position against the shovel 14;.

The water from the tank T is delivered to the roots of the plant, and to direct the water to the roots, a channel 23 is secured to the innersur'lace or the shovel 14: and extends to a point near the lower end o1 said shovel. A delivery tube 24 extends from the bottom of the tank 7 and is connected to the upper end portion of the shovel 1li in communication with the upper end of ,the channel 23 so that the water tlows through the tube 24 and down the channel 23. The tube 24 has a tapered valve seat 25 at its upper end at the bottom or' the tank, in which a tapered valve 26 seats .for shutting o'lll the ilow of water. The valve 26 has an upwardly entending stein or rod 27 connected at its upper' end with a lever 28 ulcrunied Vto the wall Y 8 of the tank immediately below the handle 9, whereby the h and which grasps the handle 9 can be used for lraising the lever 28 to raise the valve 26. The valve is thus conveniently opened for the discharge of water from the tank. A spring 29 is connected to the lever 2S for normally swinging said lever downwardly and closing the valve.

The water which Vis delivered from the tank is discharged at the points or lower ends oi the shovels or shoes, thus permit ting the water to go directly into the ground after leaving the channel 23 at the roots of the plant. This avoids wetting the shovels, excepting at the tips or ends thereof,

so as to avoid the leaves or' the plant from sticking or clinging to the innersurfaces ot the shovels, such as is the case it the shovels become wet. Y

In order to fill in the hole made by the shovels le and 15, for placing and packing dirt around the plant, outstanding wings or scoops 30 are secured to the backs or outer surfaces of the shovels 14 and 15 and extend vertically or longitudinally of the shovels midway between or intermediate the side edges ot the shovels. Said wings or scoops are curved transversely, in order that when the device is rotated (clockwise as seen in Fig. ll) the scoops Vwill draw the dirt and direct same inwardly and downwardly. The wings or scoops 30 provide dirt packers, inasmuch as the lower terminals of said wings or scoops are curved rearwardly with `reference to the direction of rotation of the device, or it may be said that the lower portions of 'the wings or packers are of screw formation.

1n using the device, the plant is dropped down through the chute 18 between Vthe shovF` els, and by grasping the handles 9 and 10 the shovels are thrust into the ground. Then, by raising the lever 20, the shovels are swung apart to open position, which is preferably assisted by tilting the device, to

the position as seen in Fig. Q, so that the shovels open the hole in the ground and let the plant drop out from between the shovels. The lever 28 is then raised so that water is discharged from the channel to the roots of the plant, and the device is withdrawn '5' from the ground while the shovels are open. lVhile the device is being lifted from the ground, it is rotated, so that the wings or scoops 30 will have an auger-*like action for dellecting the dirt inwardly and downward-V ly into the hole around the plant, so as to firmly embed the plant in the ground. The lower curved portions of the wings or packers 30 will, by cam or screw action, press the dirt downwardly, so as to compact the-- dirt around the clamp above `the roots, it being noted that the wings or packers 30 terminate above the lower ends of the shovels, leaving the dirt somewhat loose immediately surrounding lhe roots of theVplant.`v

After a little practice, prociency ymay be gained in manipulating the device, when withdrawing saine from the ground, so that the scoops 8O will throw" the dirt inwardly around the plant so as to hold the plant up right.

Having` thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1-d 1. A device of the character described the lower portions of said scoops being, U

` curved rearwardly with reference lto the dil rection of rotation to pack the `dirt downwardly by screw action. y

v2. A device of the character described comprising shovels to enter the groundv and to swing open, and outstanding scoops Vsecured to the backs of the shovels and curved v transversely for drawing the dirt inwardly rection of rotation to pack the dirt downn wardly by screw action. l v K In testimony whereof I have signed my naine to this specification.`

` CHARLES KENNEDY. 

